She killed one son, psychologically ruined another, and turns right around and tries to make it look like his fault. She is absolutely vile and disgusting.

She ruined this kid too.

This is a 21 year old grown man this is not a child. He knew what he was doing

On his knees, his knees skinny bones, hands on his head, the pain this boy suffered is beyond imagination.

People need to remember Paul wasn't raised by this woman. He didn't live with her until he was 18 years old. He'd only been there a year when Timothy got there. He wasn't doing this because he was afraid. He was doing it because he had mom issues and wanted to earn her approval. There was so much he could've done. Pretended to put hot sauce but fill it with ketchup, fill the tub with hot water and ice cubes instead of cold water, sneak snacks and hide them outside when he was forced to run, he could've called the police while at work. He knew right from wrong. He admitted he knew everything he was doing was cruel. He wouldn't put hot sauce on his penis because it "crossed a line" He isn't stupid. He's socially awkward and neurodivergent. He does deserve to face consequences but not nearly as harsh of consequences as his mother. More than anything he needs therapy to sort out why he was so desperate for her validation and approval he was willing to torture his brother to death

the thought of timothy’s frail hand reaching for a pizza roll only for it to be yanked away made me feel viscerally sick.

Like the Judge said- He’s 1 step away from becoming a psychopath. They both enjoyed torturing that poor boy. The can rot in prison.

Paul thought he was getting a better deal than Shanda, but wound up getting life anyway. He’s psycho as well. He loved the power he had over Timothy. And his vile behavior aided in Timothy’s death. RIP Tim Ferguson. 💔💔💔

I love that she cannot remember a damn thing but then sits and shakes her head at her son’s testimony as if she suddenly knows he is lying.

What a horrible mother. She tortured her middle son, brainwashed her oldest son, and then she sits here acting like he's lying. The way she's shaking her head when he implicates her is disgusting. She genuinely believes she's going to get away with this.

I had access to all the messages between Shanda and Paul. He was as willing as she was and had ideas for torture as well. He hated being bothered while he was playing his computer game and believed Timothy to constantly playing because he wanted food. All the time Timothy was starving to death. Paul is psychopath like his mother. IMO.

They didn’t think that keeping him in an ice bath for nine hours would kill him? My heart hurts for Timothy! 😢

She makes me sick. How she could eat breakfast lunch and dinner everyday while starving her child to bones is so awful. She doesn’t even deserve that water that she is sipping on.

She has the nerve to sit and smirk while she places all the blame on Paul is so disgusting & gives a clear insight as who she is as a person. She is vile.

Listen to his jail calls. He’s completely different. He just is as bad as his mother.

She doesn’t see him as her son anymore. He is now the enemy. She has no feeling or emotional depth.

The irony that they treated him worse than a prisoner, and now they get to be handcuffed, locked in a room and watched on camera.

I’m an RN, I work in mental health, both pediatric and adult. Autism is challenging, but Michigan has TONS of resources and assistance!!!! She REFUSED IT ALL!!! Paul is a classic abuse case himself! She abused ALL her kids! I truly hope Paul gets the help he needs and DESERVES!!!

Paul recently tells his fiancé, that he plans to marry in September 2024, that he hates to be lied to, yet he lies about Timothys treatment to the police. Paul is a snake for blaming his mom for his horrible treatment of his own brother. He should have been charged with murder too. Thirty years is not enough. Life in prison for him!

I don't know why everyone can't see through this kid. What a bullshitter! Nobody can see how his demeanor changed when he talked about his brother stealing food that he didn't need?! He's not afraid of his mother! Didn't anyone hear him when he said he felt like killing his brother? It's obvious that his brother was just as much of an annoyance to him as he was to his mother. He's just as responsible. He's playing the victim. Open your eyes people!!

To torture someone with food is the most cruel kind of torture. How is a disabled child supposed to even comprehend WHY someone is doing something so horrible to them? omg.

A kid which clearly has mental issues, has been manipulated all his life by this evil woman who calls herself a mother. And now he is being manipulated by the system. Someone needs to step in and show this man true love and reprogram the mess his mother has made of his life .

😂 I bet y’all in the comments feel REAL FOOLISH. This monster knew what he was doing- and NOTHING about him says AUTISM. GLAD HE GOT 30-100 years!!!!

The amount of cruelty is beyond evil.

This reminds of the book “A Child Called It.” When I was younger my older sister was reading this book and crying and she described it to me. When I got into my teenage years I read it, and it stuck with me still to this day. All my life I wanted to save these kids, I always said if I ever won the lottery I would buy a ranch and property and animals. Become a foster home, whether temporary or permanent and show children true love, structure, dinner at 5, homework at the table, love and responsibility. I’m 35 and that’s still my dream to do one day.I’m a mother of 3 and I would much rather put my work into saving kids than work 9-5 for a boss that doesn’t give a shit about me personally.

He’s terrified of her. He keeps glancing at her and its obvious he’s scared of her. Listening to this is making me sick to my stomach. This poor poor child. What he went through is horrendous

If you feel sorry for Paul and think he was afraid of Shanda...PLEASE, listen to his jail calls and his texts with Shanda. Paul hated Timothy. He asked in a text if he could call "it" pathetic. There is reason to believe he lied on Timothy to get him in trouble - such as saying Tim ate his food days ago, but then Shanda points out that food was there in that time frame and then he says Tim was doing something he wasnt supposed to on the tablet but when Shanda asks for a screenshot he IMMEDIATELY (like too soon to check) takes it back. Shanda had to tell him to stop screaming at Timothy. He kept saying he wanted to hit Tim. Yet when Paul was sneaky, kept Shanda awake and lied to her about what he was doing...NOTHING happened to him aside from a speaking to and once or twice losing his device privileges. Shanda constantly babied Paul. Always helping him get rides when he was capable and paying for stuff for him. Sure, she had him do a lot and was controlling in the sense of mapping out his days, but she rarely was mean to him. The judge was right about him. 100%!

HE IS NOT BRAINWASHED OR MANIPULATED!!! he was a bully way before his mom , his sister even stated that!!! If you listen to his phone calls from jail he ACTS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

It amazes me that she had to scrounge $3.00 change for chicken tenders for her baby son but spent all this money on cameras to watch Timothy. Makes no sense

I'm traumatized from listening to the horrific life of that child. That woman is a demon. 💔😢🙏

For those saying that Paul is afraid of Shanda, no he is not. He stood up to her quite a few times in texts and also made this snide comment at 1:50:06 and then looked right at her. He’s trying to save his own butt. He was kicked out of his dads for being sadistic towards the other kids! Then it was open season on Timothy when he got to his moms. He ratted on him OFTEN to seek approval to torture him. These are the acts of a psych0path (ASPD). He is exactly like his mother already. Yes, SHE caused him to be like this but he is sane and capable of knowing that what he was doing was wrong, hence why he told Shanda they should actually feed him because he was TOO skinny. That is of course just to avoid k!lling Timothy and thus avoid going to prison forever. Certainly not born out of empathy. Both of these ppl are products of horrendous ab*se inflicted by their parents (that’s how narcissism and sociopathy are usually caused), but that is NO excuse. Unless they’re criminally insane (basically your brain is fried)… there is absolutely nothing that excuses doing this to another human. They enjoyed it and got off on the control. They’re both sadists. No mercy for either. And I’m glad the judge also saw all of this! He even called them out for being psych0s.

I don’t feel bad for the Son, He knew exactly what he was doing as his brother was tortured and he was a huge part of it. Shame on him for not telling anyone- evil has no remorse.

It makes perfect sense that he went from calling her Mama to Shonda. He's being deprogrammed. He's ironically free for the first time in prison. He saw her coerce him into helping kill his brother and he is clearly remorseful and probably has felt a lot of anger and fear towards her all this time. Lots of formerly abused kids stop calling their abuser Mom or Dad.

"Dad" Ferguson needs to be brought to Court

Did this boy not have enough sense to dial 911? Smh he should have got the same sentence as the mom.

Her shaking her head as if he's lying about what she asked him to do. She's subhuman.

She's had some pretty significant emotional domination over this kid. What a shame. I look at him and think: mentally, emotionally, and even physically abused. He appeared to me to be scared of her.

It’s really a good thing that Shanda’s lawyer is bullying Paul. It only makes her look more evil. NOBODY thinks Paul is a metally healthy young man and ANYBODY who sees even the bare dynamics of this family setup are aware that she is abusing her older son by implicating him further in the abuse of his brother. A GOOD mother would feel protective. She is a monster

I'm not feeling for him. He willingly participated in his brother's torture. Old enough to call 911 at any point along the way.

I'm grateful Shanda got the lawyer she did. She got a respectable defense attorney who also seems like a good man. She didn't deserve him, but that's who she got. Shanda insisted on taking this to trial bc she's a delusional narcissist who actually believed 12 jurors might find her not guilty. That's insane! Attorney Johnson had nothing to work with. I don't think he fumbled or came across as "dumb" (as others have commented)-- look at the facts he's stuck with! There's only so much lipstick you can put on a pig. What attorney Johnson didn't do: He didn't turn this trial into a circus or come up with far-fetched alternative theories or blame other people for Shanda's documented actions (he did blame Paul, but only for his actions). He was always respectful & professional with the judge, prosecutor, and witnesses. I watch a lot of trials & I don't see a lot of this with defense attorneys. They usually come across as arrogant, scummy liars-- many of whom seem to exceed the threshold of what's considered ethical in defending their clients. And after it was over, he seemed so relieved. He said this was the worst case he's ever tried. He vehemently warned Shanda's pyscho friend that if he allowed her to see the pics of Timothy (pre-trial), she'd never unsee them. She didn't care-- big surprise 🙄). That tells me the facts of this case deeply affected him. How could they not? In interviews after the trial, attorney Johnson graciously talks about the prosecutor & compliments him as an attorney & person. I just wanted to say Fred Johnson seems like a lovely person & he did a decent job with what he had to work with. ✌️

This is truly the most disgusting case I've ever heard of. I am feeling physically ill from listening to Paul's testimony. I feel immense sympathy for Timothy. That poor sweet boy. I feel a deep and seething hatred for Shanda. That woman is the epitome of evil. As a mother, her atrocious actions are the lowest of the low, I cannot think of anything worse than a mother who diabolically, deliberately, and methodically, tortured, starved, and beat her child to death all the while enlisting her other child into assisting her. In relation to Paul, I go back and forth between feeling disgust and rage for his cruel treatment of his brother to then feeling some sympathy for the unimaginable circumstances his demon of a mother put him in. Paul does seem to be emotionally handicapped although he seems very bright intelligence wise. I can't help but think that Shanda's abuse took many different forms and that each child got a different kind. Paul doesn't seem like the kind to have many friends, and seemed to live a reclusive life where Shanda was his only form of companionship. She watched the cameras from her work to ensure Paul was following her every despicable order. I believe he did feel sympathy for Timothy at times but also knew that expressing hatred, disgust, or cruelty towards his brother elicited praise and love from his mother which he desperately craved. I do believe Paul deserves punishment, the actions are just too horrible for him to get completely off the hook as a 20 year old man who most certainly knew right from wrong. I just can't help to think that Paul wouldn't have committed any of these horrendous acts without the most influential person in his purposefully, sheltered, secluded life encouraging him to do so.

I want the question asked....What would happen to YOU if you didn't follow the "instructions" Shanda gave you??? There has to be some reason he followed all these bizarre directives. I feel that this young man is also somewhere on the spectrum....I feel sorry for him. I'm not even sure he realized how barbaric the treatment his brother received, was. He seems very anxious and nervous. Not just because he is on wittness stand. His apologies....and extreme politeness....just seem like he is not as mature as his actual age. His mother abused him as well....I'm sure of it.

I love when the judge makes sure to say “I’ve made no agreement on your sentence in exchange with you for testifying today.” I REALLY HOPE THE JUDGE DENIES HIS PLEA DEAL AND GIVES HIM THE MAX! This thing is disgusting 🤮 He could have gave his brother food at any time. He could have called the 911 dispatcher at any time!

In his jail calls he is complaining about how the guys in there have no compassion for him because of his sprained ankle. And also complaining about not getting enough food. The nerve of him

This boy doesnt look "over feed" either & you can tell the way he keeps looking over to her that he is terrified of the evil witch 😈

Her utter hate for her children is simply undeniable! She truly believes that Paul should suffer like her because he did as she instructed him to. He does deserve punishment because of all the things he could have done to save his brother though but, how devastating that she had the power and authority over her children and used them against each other because exercising cruelty over her subjects excites her. Even to this bitter end she refuses to admit the truth about herself. Lock her up and throw away the key because this one cannot be saved!

Fast forward and Shanda's disciple Paul gets a 30 year sentence. These 2 demons belong in Hell.

This cross examination did not help her case. What a sick excuse for a parent.

Paul Ferguson looks half starved!

She has absolutely ruined ALL of her kids ! This monster is nothing but PURE EVIL!!!!

The brother should be in jail. There is no way that I would have allowed my brother to be tortured by anyone especially my mother.

Hope Paul gets the worst of it in prison. Absolute clown.

This defendant is more than old enough to understand right from wrong. This is an evil person. I am taken back by the comment section. This kid could have simply just stopped and gone to the police, there are a plethora of opportunities for him to go to the police or school board and address the situation. He chose to follow through with every torture request and even suggested some as well...

It's sickening that the mother's attorney is trying to blame Paul.

This boy is downplaying his role him, and his mother were equally culpable. He enjoyed torturing his brother. He deserves every bit as much punishment maybe even more because I think that he is blaming his mother to make him look better I. reality he got off on it.

She is "sooooo smart" but she forgot that his son could spill the beans of all her evil done

Imagine how scared that boy was every time he heard footsteps coming towards his room,,,,omg! 😢

If you can't trust you Mother OR your Brother, who in God's name CAN you trust. My heart breaks for poor young Timothy. 💔😢

This morning I got out of the shower and was so cold, hurrying to dry off and get a bathrobe, and my thoughts went to Timothy. That poor child had to sit in ice cold water, not for a few minutes, but for hours. Not to mention sauce so hot that one drop will bring a grown man to his knees. The wall sits, the starvation, the closet. How could any human being treat another that way?

He was extremely autistic and had speech and motor impairments. He wasn't able to ask for food and other things, because of his disability. He wasn't able to communicate very well. She punished him for it. Disgusting, how they both point the finger at each other. They knew what they was doing to him was wrong!! R.I.P. baby boy. Prayers go out to you

You can tell he’s terrified of her. He even glances over at her quickly when he says that he made Timothy some “regular”‘food. She mentally backed him into a corner and forced him to participate in her wrong doings. He needs help. This is so heartbreaking. Such an evil woman to do this to her children.

The son testifying was also her victim. I couldn't finish watching and am heartbroken for both boys. There isn't a sentence harsh enough for this inhumane sicko!!! I've been a single mom of a very difficult teen daughter. I have a history of trauma I've been through. I deal with ptsd and depression. Never would I ever consider doing anything to hurt one of my children. It makes me more protective!!!

He’s a sadistic pos. “ As per Shanda’s orders.” Is no excuse.

They are both evil and enjoyed torturing this child.

The dad that sent these kids to this woman should be held accountable for negligence this witch has been this way her whole life

I feel for Paul. He was abused and manipulated since his first contact with the evil one. I hope he is offered help and support going forward

What a manipulator, faking that he hurts when he describes torturing his brother. Thank God the judge saw through all his lies and manipulation. He makes me sick in my stomach. The judge is right, he may be even worse than his mother. The speech the judge gave at his sentencing is something I will never forget

I listened to a phone call while he was in jail. He made a list of "rules" for an autistic cell mate. He has learned nothing. I tried to give him the benefit of a doubt because of his mother but i think the judge got it exactly right. He doesn't feel bad about Timothy. He feels bad that he got caught. I hope he feels just a small part of the torture that he put Timothy through for the next 30 years. He's just as evil as she is

Why is the son handcuffed while giving evidence and yet the mother sits there uncuffed? That boy is a victim too. So distressing

So Shanda wants him to quit taking medicine. She knows he’s got several diagnoses. They run out of medicine and she’s not contacting a doctor. Her son starts acting out and his behaviour is becoming really hard to handle and she’s correcting him with torture??!! It’s absolutely insane. The whole "homeschooling" business can be so dangerous. It should be supervised at least once a month.

These 2, mother and son, are monsters.

Paul is an abuser... He went from his brother to inmates. The way he spoke about treating a cellmate with austim told me EVERYTHING. Ask yourself, if he was so afraid of his mother why did he alert her to Timothy's behaviors? Why did she tell him he better not hit Timothy in another text? He is fooling allot of you all.

Absolutely heartbreaking that a mother would first do what she did to her own child then try to pin it on her other child. I knew when I seen the bodycam that she was faking. No tears. and she kept turning off the sobs to say random things about how timothy fell down the stairs and how he just ate last night, and she was trying to coach her son in front of the police. She just sits there and lets her attorney hurt her other son. She deserves life behind bars, she is pure evil. Pure. Evil.

What really bothers me the most and doesn’t sit well with me, is the fact that she gets to drink as much water as she wants to and gets to eat when she’s hungry yet her Special child Got Tortured to death 🤔😒

This guy is not innocent. Take a listen at the jail calls.

EVERYONE ALWAYS BLAMES THE MOTHER FOR EVERYTHING- YES, SHE IS HORRIBLE BUT REMEMBER THIS: Paul wasn't raised by this woman. He didn't live with her until he was 18 years old. He'd only been there a year when Timothy got there. He wasn't doing this because he was afraid HE ENJOYED TORTURING HIS DISABLED BROTHER & lied to his mother inciting her RAGE TO JUSTIFY HIS ABUSE! HE KNEW HE WAS DYING, FREAKED OUT & BLAMED HIS "BIRTH MOTHER" EVEN THE JUDGES AGREES (AT HIS SENTENCE HE SAID, YOU ARE WORSE THAN YOUR MOTHER!)

Wayching her sit there and shake her head trying to deny what her son is saying pisses me off to no end

My heart breaks for Timothy and Paul. I have a son similar to Timothy, so this testimony is very disturbing and extremely heartbreaking. I pray Paul receives the help he needs and NOT in a prison.

The worst thing about this case is :placing Tim in a cold bath while he was unable to move nor get out of bath . Just thinking about it makes me clinch my fist 😢

Timothy was that programmed to want and respond to food due to never getting any that the pizza roll was something that managed to bring him out of a comatose state when he was literally on the brink of death. That's so fkn sad.

This young man was intimidated and manipulated into mistreating and abusing his brother by their mother. Serious consideration should be given to providing him with mental health resources rather than locking him up.

Seeing her sitting there smirking during her own child's cross-examination, like she's thinking they really got him with that recording, like the jury isn't going to believe him because he got a deal, like she's going to get out of this, makes my blood boil. And it makes me even more thankful that she was found GUILTY and is going to spend the rest of her life in prison. And if there's any real justice in the world, the other women in there are going to make her life as miserable as she made Timothy's.

Poor Timothy 😢😢😢 he went through hell because of these monsters.

I can’t believe that he dragged him to the bathroom and he didn’t have enough compassion to pick him up or call for help knowing he was dying

Why is everyone saying the fear he had because of his mother? What fear? His only concern was not being able to play Minecraft for 15 minutes. He got normal food. He wasn’t tortured by his own brother. Imagine the FEAR of Timothy seeing his brother coming with the hot sauce again!!! Starving and the only thing you’re FORCED to eat is 2 million Scoville heat index hot sauce on bread! I hope everyone who pities this son goes and watches a video on hot pepper sauce challenge!!! The people are in AGONY and that’s just a little bit of sauce. This poor boy was given bread drenched in it as his only food source. The videos go into detail how painful it is in the mouth as well as the painful burning in the stomach and what comes out later after digestion. This is the house of horrors and he participated in it 50/50. He had all the opportunities in the world to speak out!!! Call a family member. Something!!!! But no, poor him.

If he was sneaking food it means he was hungry. Instead of feeding him so that he didn't have to sneak food he was chained, locked in a closet, starved, fed hot sauce, left in ice cold bath... If Paul could do all of that and watch his own brother suffer while he could eat and walk around freely it shows that he has an evil side too.

Paul was failed by both parents. He was petrified of his biological father, who beat him frequently to a pulp , he will hurt him with a belt , the physical punishments traumatized him. Then he comes to live with his Bio mother, a very smart woman, she brainwashed him to think that ALL she did was for love and for the good of her kids. He wholeheartedly trusted her. He is still a child, barely 20yrs old. When Timothy died he was in shock , I saw the video. He could not understand how that happened. I believe Paul has suffered ENOUGH. He never got the love and care he so desperately wanted to seek in his mother. Petrified his mom will send him back to the abuser father and trusting her supreme judgement, he failed his brother, but he had no choice, he didn’t know better, or had many other alternatives in life. He should not be held responsible for the actions of his demon mother.

Lurch thought he was possibly going to escape prison altogether if he could flunk his psych evals per his jail calls.

In the end Paul did the right thing by telling the truth. As wrong as it is if not for his testimony she’d likely not serve her life in jail as she should. He’s taking responsibility unlike his vile mother.

Cases where an abusive parent scapegoats a child and manipulates the other children into accepting and participating in the abuse are just staggeringly horrible. I hope that "mom" never leaves prison.

This whole meek, timid act he's putting on the stand, is just that. An act. He hurt Timothy in one other horrible way that isnt mentioned in the trial, i dont think. But if you use your imagination you can figure out what I'm talking about. Plus abusing animals as a kid... He's a sick pup.

He could have ran away with a friend with a girlfriend and called child protective services anonymously, but he chose to have a roof over his head. By the way, every murderer has a reason why they’re doing it they have a mental disorder or was abused as a child . It does not excuse what they do.

Wow! The glances he’s giving her are chilling!!! And a tell all! Like he’s saying I’m telling the truth the whole truth and there’s nothing you can do about it!!! What an evil monster she is

The fact that people really think he is a victim is outrageous. He chose to move in with his mother at 18.

He admits to putting the shackles on but there are no texts from Shanda telling him to put the shackles on. This freak enjoyed every second of it.

He got sentenced to 30 to 100 yrs. No remorse. The mother messed him up but he had the opportunity to help his brother and chose to torture his brother

When that kid made the eloquent response about NOT asking for leniency, notice the defense lawyer makes no acknowledgement of that whatsoever! Very powerful statement from Paul.

My heart goes out to this boy, he was just as abused by that sick woman!!!! 💔

Sneaking food that wasn't necessary?? He was hungry usually you eat when your hungry ! My kids eat non stop 😢😢😔😔

Shanda is a POS for allowing her attorney to try to pin this on Paul